We’re here to help!
The 2025 NFL Draft is fewer than 10 days away, so it is time for HuddleUK’s very own NFL Draft Beginner’s Guide, aiming to help new or part-time fans of American Football understand and enjoy the process.
Whether you are new to the sport or have an NFL-daft partner/relative/friend, the draft can often be a bit overwhelming.
Well, HuddleUK is tackling this with our very own Beginner’s Guide for NFL Draft newbies!
Structure
The NFL Draft consists of seven rounds, with 257 picks in total this year.
The first-round selections take place on Day 1, with the second and third-round picks on Day 2.
Rounds four through seven will happen on the third and final day.
When and where?
The 2025 NFL Draft is taking place at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin – home of the Green Bay Packers.
It is being held on the last weekend of April, with the following start times:
- Day 1: Thursday 24th April – 8pm ET/1am BST
- Day 2: Friday 25th April – 6pm ET/11pm BST
- Day 3: Saturday 26th April – 12pm ET/5pm BST
Trades
During the draft, General Managers from each team will call one another to discuss trades.
Often, teams give up multiple picks to move up the draft order and select a premium player.
In some cases, a team might exchange draft picks for a veteran player instead.
Glossary
“On the clock”
It is this team’s turn to pick! In the first round, teams have ten minutes to either make a selection or trade their pick away. By the seventh round, they have just four minutes to decide.
“Draft board”
Each team has a long list of players they hope to draft, with their best fits at the top. NFL media experts also create their own “big boards”, which are unofficial rankings of all the prospects in the draft.
“NFL Combine”
The NFL Combine was an event which took place in February where top prospects undertook athletic testing. Experts will regularly mention the results of these tests throughout draft day coverage. For example, analysts might say a player “runs a 4.60”, in reference to their 40-yard dash time.
“Front office/GM”
The front office is the decision-making hub of a franchise. They make the decisions on draft day, usually led by the team’s General Manager.
Names to know
Cam Ward – A confident, exciting quarterback out of Miami who is almost nailed-on to be the first overall pick in the draft. Anything else would be a major shock.
Shedeur Sanders – Shedeur’s dad, Deion Sanders, was a Hall of Fame cornerback in the NFL. Sanders Jr. is a capable quarterback who is likely to go in the top five picks of the draft.
Travis Hunter – Hunter is a generational talent and played alongside Sanders at college. His ability to play on both offense and defense to a high level is extremely rare in modern American football. Consequently, the wide receiver/cornerback prodigy will likely be one of the first names called in the draft.
Abdul Carter – Carter is an expert at rushing the quarterback, with 12 sacks in the 2024 college season. He could be the first non-quarterback selected this year.
Ashton Jeanty – Jeanty is one of the most exciting running backs to enter the NFL Draft in recent years. Experts predict he may go to the Raiders, Bears or the Cowboys.
Hopefully this Beginner’s Guide to the NFL Draft is a helpful starting point for the casual viewer.
If you would like to know more about each position, we have already published our ‘Top Five’ players at both quarterback and running back.
Keep an eye out for the rest of the positions and more specialised draft content here at the HuddleUK website and on our social media channels!
You can also read HuddleUK’s ‘Mock Draft’ here, where all 32 of our writers pick a player for their favourite team.
